Chat-bout.net - Laid To Rest

Laid To Rest

Michael Jackson has finally been laid to rest in a crown-adorned, glittering gold coffin after family and friends saluted the tragic "King of Pop" in a poignant farewell.

Michael Jackson

More than two months after the singer died from a drug overdose, around 200 mourners - led by the Jackson family and also including Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor - gathered at a picturesque cemetery on a warm summer evening to celebrate the singer's life.

Mourners made spontaneous tributes to Jackson in a service held beyond the prying eyes of hundreds of media personnel gathered outside the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, home to a who's who of late Hollywood legends.

Soul legend Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow, while lyricist Clifton Davis belted out his Never Can Say Goodbye, which became a hit song for the Jackson 5.

Following the ceremony, Jackson's brothers carried the casket into Forest Lawn's imposing Great Mausoleum, followed by guests.

"Michael Jackson reached his final resting place tonight at 9:43 pm (0443 GMT) in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park," a statement from the Jackson family read after the service.

Invites issued to guests urged mourners to celebrate Jackson's life.

"We loved him, we laughed with him, we sang with him. We danced with him. But on this day, we celebrate him," the invite read. The mausoleum housing Jackson is also home to Hollywood icons Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

Thursday's service contrasted with the lavish public memorial held at the Los Angeles Staples Center in July, which was attended by 20,000 fans and beamed live around the world to an estimated billion-strong audience.

Bookmark us!